


Building Things

by bookplayer



Series: Life in Stoneybrook [6]
Category: Baby-Sitters Club - Ann M. Martin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-24
Updated: 2011-10-24
Packaged: 2017-10-28 17:22:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/310254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookplayer/pseuds/bookplayer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mary Anne makes a decision about the daycare, and about who she is going to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Building Things

Allie had two of her plastic blocks stacked up. She tried to put another on the stack, but it fell off, and as she turned to pick it up she knocked the second one off. She decided to chew on the one in her hand for a few seconds before she set it on one of the blocks on the floor and started again.

I was half watching this, and half reading the Sunday paper, while Kristy checked her email and for her weekly note from Charlie. He had moved to Arizona a few years ago, but he always sent an email every week, even if it was just a joke or a funny picture.

It was a beautiful, peaceful morning with my little family. We were waiting for Claudia and Janine to come over. Claudia had called last night, she said she needed to talk to me, and that Janine needed some legal advice from Kristy.

The doorbell rang and Kristy almost jumped up from the computer. She managed to sidestep a half a dozen toys that Allie had been playing with before she found her blocks as she made her way to the door. I folded the paper neatly and set it next to me, then got up to move some of the toys to the corner.

I heard Kristy get the door, then a few seconds later she lead Claudia, Zee, and Janine into the living room. I smiled and waved a little, “Hi!”

Zee grinned and waved back, “Hi, Mrs. Spier!”

“Hello, Mary Anne. This is a lovely house you have here.” Janine said with a smile.

“Thank you. We were lucky to find it. You look great.” I said. And she did. She had a nice haircut, and she wasn't wearing glasses. She was wearing brown pants and a dark green t-shirt. Next to her, Claudia was wearing jeans and a bright green t-shirt the name of a band in yellow. They looked more like sisters then they ever had when we were growing up.

“Thank you.” Janine said, shyly.

I wasn't sure what to say next. I think we were going to stand there awkwardly for the rest of the day, except that Claudia put her arm on Janine's and gave her a gentle shove towards Kristy. “Hey, why don't you guys go and talk about grown up things?”

Kristy's face lit up, she loves being asked for legal advice, “Yeah, come on. I've got a list of what I need to find out from you, and I'll show you a couple of different ways this can work.”

Janine nodded, and Kristy lead her out of the room towards the kitchen.

“Mommy, can I play blocks with Allie?”

Claudia looked to me, and I got down to Zee's level, “You're welcome to, but Allie is still a baby and she's not very good at it yet.”

“That's okay. I'll show her.”

Claudia smiled, “My Zee, she might be too little to understand.”

“She has to grow up one day, right? Babies turn into big kids. So I'll start showing her how to be a big kid.”

I had to smile, he looked so earnest. “Alright, Zee. You help Allie with her blocks.”

I got up and sat down on the couch, and Claudia sat in a recliner. She grinned at me, “So. . Do you really want to do this?”

I had guessed that this was about the daycare when she called last night. I thought about it a lot, and decided that I did. But now that Claudia asked me, all I could get out was a nervous “I think so.”

She raised her eyebrows, “You don't sound too sure.”

“I am. Yes, I'm definitely sure.” I forced a smile.

“You don't have to do this for me, Mary Anne. I'll be fine.” As she said that, I could see something creeping into her expression. I'd seen it yesterday too. She seemed insecure. It was strange to see in Claudia's face, she had always been one of the most self-confidant people I had ever known, if it didn't involve academics.

I sighed, “I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for me, because I have to. Because I have to do things in my life that I want to do.”

She looked confused by that, “If you have to make yourself do them, you don't really want to do them, right?”

I wanted to tell her how scared I was, but I didn't want to worry her. Instead I changed the subject, “That's a cool shirt. I've never heard of that band.”

She looked down, then laughed, “I'm not surprised. Quick Egress was around just long enough to make a demo and print t-shirts. I think the drummer is a cook at a Denny's now.”

“I guess the name was a good choice, then.”

“Huh?”

I blushed a little, “Egress means exit. Quick Exit.”

“Oh. Yeah.” She laughed.

I heard Allie start to fuss, and looked over right away. There were a bunch of blocks in a pile, whatever Zee had been building had fallen over.

Zee handed her a block, “It's okay, Allie. It was an accident.”

The block distracted her, and she calmed down, as Zee started stack the blocks again, while he talked softly, almost to himself “Put the second block right on the bottom one. If it's off the side, it will fall off. Then the next one, right on top. Allie, put the next one on.”

He guided her hand, and when he had it straight on the tower he told her to let it go. She did, and he moved on to the next one.

I turned to Claudia, who was watching the same scene, smiling.

I worried that she was going to ask about the day care again, so I went on quickly, “I noticed your tattoos yesterday, they were beautiful.”

“Thanks. I designed them myself.” She said.

“I thought so. I'm glad.”

She laughed a little at that, “Why are you glad?”

I blushed a lot this time. “I'm glad because, well. . . you dress so normal now. But I'm glad you have a little bit of your art with you all the time.”

“Yeah, well. . .” Her face clouded over. “I don't know. I got rid of most of my stuff. I miss it, you know? I mean, the jewelry wasn't a good idea with a little kid around, but I miss having something that makes it a work of art, and not just clothes.”

“I'm sorry.”

She smiled again, with that insecurity behind it, “It's just stuff, right? I got some good money for it at boutiques. I'll get new stuff some day, and I'll always have my tattoos, and Zee.”

I thought for a moment. Then I smiled at her, “Watch the children, I'll be right back.”

I hurried upstairs, to my closet. In the top was a box, which I pulled down. It was very light, and I brought it downstairs to Claudia.

I set it on the coffee table, and opened it. It was full of bright colors on soft, silky fabric. I touched them, and I should have wanted to cry, I wanted to cry just knowing the box was there. But instead, I thought of Claudia, and how good she would look in all of these.

 “Here, you can have these if you want.” I said, and I pushed the box a little toward her.

She looked in, and pulled out a beautiful yellow and black scarf with a swirly white pattern on it. “This is beautiful. There must be a hundred scarves in here. I can't take these, Mary Anne!”

“Yes, you can. I love them, but I don't want them. Everyone gave them to me, when. . . well, it meant a lot to me, and it still does, but I'll never wear all of them. I kept out the ones that are really special. The rest of these are too beautiful to be in my closet making me sad, but I needed to know they were going to someone who would appreciate them.”

She stared at me, putting it together.

“Kristy went out at first and bought me every scarf she could find, and Dawn sent me a lot of them from California. Then Sharon and Elizabeth and Karen and Emily all picked them up whenever they saw one that was pretty. It makes me feel so lucky, to have so many people who love me, but. . .”

She didn't say anything, but she reached over and took my hand. I think it was because she didn't say anything that I felt like I could keep talking.

“I'm scared.” I said, softly so that the children didn't notice. “I'm scared, but I can't be scared forever. I have to stop being a cancer patient. I have to make myself do the things I want to do, so that maybe someday I won't be scared to do them.”

She nodded, “I. . . um, thank you. For the scarves, I mean. If you're sure.”

I smiled, and squeezed her hand, “I'm sure. So, we're going to start a daycare?”

“Yeah!” She grinned. “Yeah, we are, and it's going to be so cool. I couldn't stop coming up with awesome ideas for how to set it up and decorate.”

“Mommy! Mrs. Spier! Look!” Zee said. We both looked over and he and Allie were standing by a stack of about 6 blocks. Well, Allie was wobbling a little, she had just started to stand on her own.

“Allie put on this one, and this one.” He said, pointing to two in the middle. “I put on the last one. But I helped her be a big kid.”

I grinned, “You are an amazing helper, Zee. How about if we go get some juice?”

“Yes, please, Mrs. Spier! Come on, Allie!” Zee said, as I took Allie's hand and lead Zee and Claudia into the kitchen.


End file.
